<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Rainbow Road to your Heart by remipachu</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24541792">Rainbow Road to your Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/remipachu/pseuds/remipachu'>remipachu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>KaoMaya Bandori Rarepair Week [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Competition, Desperate attempts to keep Hagumi in-character while she holds a tournament, F/F, Kaoru mains Waluigi, Mario Kart, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, tournament</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:08:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,005</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24541792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/remipachu/pseuds/remipachu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hagumi hosts the grand PasuPare-HaroHapi Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tournament, where the most important rule is to have fun!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Seta Kaoru/Yamato Maya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>KaoMaya Bandori Rarepair Week [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bandori Rarepair Week (2019-present)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rainbow Road to your Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Okay, so the rules are!” Hagumi began, “One! You must stay with the same character and kart combination that you start with! Two! No physical contact with anyone, on your team or otherwise! Three! We won’t be playing in teams because we can’t do five-on-five on the Switch and that wouldn’t last long enough anyway!” She giggled before continuing. “Fourth and last! Fun is the most important thing! No matter who wins or loses, we’re here to have a good time!”</p><p>“Can I ask a question?” Aya asked, raising her hand.</p><p>“Yes, Aya-chan!” Hagumi called, pointing at Aya.</p><p>“I don’t understand the brackets!”</p><p>“Well that’s okay, I’ll explain again!” Hagumi said with a smile, “Each band will have their own double-elimination bracket! The upper and lower brackets will go on at about the same time, as much as we can. Thank you to Hina-chan, Kokoron, and Mii-kun for bringing your Switches as well! Whoever the winner of the PasuPare and HaroHapi brackets are will face off against each other, and whoever wins the Grand Final will be the winner!” After her explanation, Hagumi turned back to Aya. “Do you understand better now?”</p><p>“I, I think so!” Aya replied, giving a nervous smile.</p><p>“Okay, I think that’s everything then!” Hagumi concluded, “Let the official PasuPare vs. HaroHapi Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Tournament begin! Check the brackets for the first matches!”</p><p>“Don’t forget the snack table!” Kokoro added.</p><p>With that, everyone got up and headed to check the brackets. The first matches were between Maya and Eve, and Kanon and Misaki. Maya gave Kaoru a smile and a nod, and Kaoru smiled back at her.</p><p>“Wish me luck!” Maya said.</p><p>“Do well, my dear,” Kaoru said, putting a hand on Maya’s shoulder, “But not too well, so that we may not have to face each other in battle.”</p><p>“Huhehe, don’t worry about that,” Maya laughed, “I’m sure Hina’s gonna kick my butt if and when we face off.” With that, she went to Hina’s Switch, set up on a gigantic TV that was seriously a little extra for a small Mario Kart tournament. Maya had no idea how Kokoro could just have her family spend this much money at the drop of a hat, but oh well.</p><p>Sitting in front of the Switch on a beanbag chair, Maya picked up the controller. Hehe, they had the little plastic wheels, that was cute. Eve sat beside her and took the matching controller. She looked seriously determined, but then again, of course she did. Eve had to prover her warriors’ merit in battle! Even if the battle was Mario Kart. Maya was player one, so she navigated to the Grand Prix screen, and eventually to the character select. She knew who her character was going to be from the start: green Shy Guy. It was perfect for her! And he was very cute, that definitely helped. Next to her, Eve chose Link. Ah, that was certainly fitting as well. They picked out their Karts, and then went to choose the cup they would play. It had been decided that they would go in ascending order of difficulty, and the upper bracket would play the nitro courses while the lower bracket played the retro ones. Thus, they started with the Mushroom Cup.</p><p>The first race was a breeze for Maya. Not that she’d tell anybody, but she kind of played this game obsessively. And of course, when you do all the courses in order, you started with the Mushroom Cup, so Maya had a lot of practice on Mario Kart Stadium (even if she got bored later and quit, she always played this one). Maya got first place and Eve got third. Not too bad, all things considered. Water Park was a bit closer, with Eve getting second place. At some point during the race, she heard a shout of joy, presumably from Kanon winning a race over at the HaroHapi bracket. Maya actually got second to Eve’s first on Sweet Sweet Canyon, but was able to pull through to an overall victory when she won Thwomp Ruins.</p><p>“Good games, Maya-san!” Eve congratulated with a smile, “Maybe you’ll even represent us against Hello, Happy World!”</p><p>“Huhehe, don’t count yourself out yet, Eve-san!” Maya returned, “You could make a return and overturn me!”</p><p>“You’re right! I won’t forget my bushido spirit!” Eve pumped her arms and headed off to the snack table while Maya went to go watch the HaroHapi match. It seemed to be the end of Thwomp Ruins, and Misaki had a decisive lead. Kanon pouted as she watched the female villager cross the finish line, but still congratulated Misaki with a hug (Misaki had to remind her to actually finish). Maya took a seat next to Kaoru, who was surprised to see her.</p><p>“Oh, Maya!” Kaoru exclaimed, “I did not expect to see you here, my kitten. What brings you to the side of Hello, Happy World?”</p><p>“I wanted to come watch you play!” Maya responded, giving Kaoru a smile. Maya thought she might be seeing things, but it looked like Kaoru’s cheeks were tinged pink.</p><p>“Well, Maya, prepare to feast your eyes upon the grandest match to ever be witnessed!” And with that, Kaoru got up, took her place, and promptly chose Waluigi. It was all Maya could do not to burst out laughing -- Waluigi?? Maya guessed it was fitting, though; they were both tall and purple.</p><p>Kaoru and Hagumi had quite the match, and it seemed really close at places. In the end, though, Kaoru lost. Hagumi took first place in Mario Circuit and Shy Guy Falls, and Kaoru got first in Toad Harbor and Twisted Mansion. However, her third place in Shy Guy Falls caused her to fall to the lower bracket. Maya had to leave as soon as that game ended though, this time to play against Aya. Hina had just won against Chisato, though Maya wasn’t too surprised about that. Hina seemed the type to be really good at this game (like she was with everything).</p><p>Maya almost felt bad. Aya chose Cat Peach (“She’s fluffy and pink, like me!”), but she really didn’t know what she was doing when she chose her kart, so she couldn’t make up for her character’s weaknesses. And she didn’t know how to play the game. Maya essentially trounced her. She took first place in every match, while poor Aya never got above fourth place. She was almost in tears when the final race finished and she was in dead last on Mount Wario.</p><p>“Ahhh, Aya-san, it’s okay!” Maya frantically tried to cheer Aya up with an awkward hug and reassurances. “You can still come back from this! And it’s just for fun anyway!” Aya nodded and sniffled before going to the snack table for sweets.</p><p>Because Maya was now free for the next couple of matches, not having a game until the quarterfinals, she decided to grab some snacks herself. She filled up her plate with mostly veggie sticks and ranch dressing, but also grabbed some chips and dip. She also grabbed a bread roll for Kaoru, who she hadn’t seen at the snack table yet.</p><p>When she arrived at the HaroHapi bracket, Kaoru was in the middle of a game against Kanon on GBA Mario Circuit, and it appeared that she was winning. Waluigi’s ridiculous victory cheers came as he finished in first, with Kanon’s female Inkling coming not far behind. Maya laughed and gave a modest cheer along with everyone else. The next two games went similarly, with Kaoru winning and Kanon getting an okay second place. Kanon and Kaoru shook hands, and Kanon went to go see Chisato (who had just lost her match against Eve). Maya appeared behind Kaoru to congratulate her, startling Kaoru.</p><p>“Ah!” she exclaimed, “Oh, Maya, it’s you.”</p><p>“Good job, Kaoru!” Maya said with a smile, “Keep it up and maybe you’ll win the tournament!”</p><p>“Your faith in me brings great joy to my heart, little kitten,” Kaoru stated, “We shall see if I justify that faith. Prepare yourself, Kokoro!”</p><p>“I’m ready, Kaoru!” Kokoro called, already in her beanbag with yellow Yoshi selected.</p><p>“Then I must depart, Maya,” Kaoru said, giving a kiss to Maya’s hand, “Do well against your next opponent.”</p><p>Maya.exe stopped functioning right about at the time her hand was kissed, and it was all she could do to sit down on the couch and start eating her snacks. Before she could manually come back to reality, she heard Hina calling her name.</p><p>“Maya-chan!” she yelled, “Come play against me!” Maya shook her head as if to clear the gay thoughts before getting up.</p><p>“C-coming, Hina-san!” she called, heading over to the PasuPare bracket. She sat herself down and chose her green Shy Guy and kart, mentally preparing herself for the loss she was about to receive.</p><p>But she didn’t lose. She got second place in the first match, but managed to use her items just right to pull ahead of Hina at the last second in all the rest of the races. Maya was agape staring at the results. </p><p>“Wow, Maya-chan!” Hina said in surprise, “Good job! But don’t count yourself in yet! There’s still one more loser’s bracket match to play!”</p><p>“Lower bracket!” Hagumi called from the middle of her game against Misaki.</p><p>“Right, right,” Hina didn’t really bother to correct herself. “Now go watch your girlfriend play Hagumi again!”</p><p>“She’s not--!” But Hina had already started calling Eve over, so Maya got up and, embarrassed, went to go grab a cup of coffee and watch Kaoru (who was not her girlfriend, even if Maya fantasized about kissing her at night, which she totally didn’t). Kaoru was, indeed, playing against Hagumi, and it was a tense match indeed. They kept switching places, but by the end, somehow Kaoru came out the victor. Hagumi cheered and gave Kaoru a hug.</p><p>“Yay! Good job Kaoru-kun!” she shouted.</p><p>“Your performance was fleeting, Hagumi,” Kaoru said with a flourish, “You are a victor in my heart.”</p><p>“Oh, Maya-san! I didn’t notice you there!” Hagumi called to Maya, looking over Kaoru’s shoulder (quite the task for such a short girl).</p><p>“Oh, huhehe, hi Hagumi-san!” Maya greeted with a wave and an awkward smile. She was still a little embarrassed over Hina’s comments and Kaoru kissing her hand. She blushed as she looked into Kaoru’s eyes, and for a second it seemed like Kaoru did as well. “G-good job to the both of you. Looks like you’re in the semifinals, Kaoru-san! So am I!”</p><p>“Marvelous, Maya!” Kaoru responded, “If we both win our matches, we shall meet on the track. Do your best, dear.” Oh god, Kaoru called her dear right before her semifinal match against--</p><p>“Maya-chaaaaan!” Hina yelled, “Stop flirting with Kaoru and get over here!” Maya promptly got up and vowed to throttle Hina in her match. She could still hear Hagumi and Kaoru’s conversation and she walked away.</p><p>“Wait, you were flirting with Maya-san?” Hagumi asked.</p><p>“Ah, ahaha,” Kaoru laughed, clearly embarrassed, “Well, my kitten…”</p><p>Maya lost focus on the conversation as she sat down. She gave Hina a determined look; she was going to make sure their rematch was a swift one. Without bothering to look at Hina, she selected green Shy Guy and her kart combo, then went to choose the Special Cup. Theoretically the most difficult, but really not too bad once you’ve played it a few dozen times.</p><p>“Ready, Hina-san?” Maya asked with the smile of friendly competition.</p><p>“Obviously!” Hina laughed.</p><p>They were off! Maya sped through the first section of Cloudtop Cruise, with Hina catching up quickly. They kept trading first and second place, but by the end Maya came out the victor. Bone-Dry Dunes and Bowser’s Castle went similarly, but Maya came in second on Bowser’s Castle. She couldn’t lose focus now, not when she had to get Hina back for embarrassing her in front of her cru-- no, not crush, friend! Maya shook her head to clear it, and doubled down for Rainbow Road. This was her chance! Then she could… Well, she still would have one more race, probably against Misaki. She could win Pastel*Palettes’ honor! That was better. Wait, shit, the race started and Hina was in first! Maya started taking every opportunity she could to snipe Hina with a banana, or seem to shoot a green shell past her but have it bounce back and hit. Finally, with Hina just behind her, she took first place!</p><p>“Yes!” Maya cheered to herself.</p><p>“Damn, Maya-chan!” Hina seemed honestly surprised. “Well, you’d better win in the grand finals. Might be a bit difficult, considering…”</p><p>“Yaaaay, Kaoru-kun! You won!” Hagumi and Kokoro cheered in unison. Maya’s face fell as she stared at the HaroHapi bracket in shock. She would have to play against Kaoru? That was uh, not good. Maya always knew her uncontrollable gay thoughts would be her downfall.</p><p>“Everyone, it’s time for the grand finals!” Hagumi called, “It’s Maya-san against Kaoru-kun! Who will win?? Well, everyone’s a winner to me! But let’s play!” Everyone got up and shoved Kaoru and Maya to the two beanbags in the center of the room, on the biggest TV. They stared at each other before Maya smiled awkwardly.</p><p>“Well, um, good luck, Kaoru-san!” she laughed, extending a hand for a handshake. Kaoru just looked at her hand before remembering that she had to speak.</p><p>“Y-yes, my kitten…” she replied, “May the best of us emerge victorious!” She almost seemed to regain her normal (for Kaoru) personality while she was handed her controller.</p><p>“These two are unbearable,” Hina whispered to Chisato, definitely making sure to be loud enough that Kaoru and Maya could hear.</p><p>“I know.” Chisato grumbled.</p><p>Tuning out the peanut gallery, Maya made her final selections for her kart. Her trusty combination had never failed her before, and it certainly wasn’t going to fail her against the lanky purple person she was playing against. Whether she was thinking of Kaoru or Waluigi she didn’t know. When she was done, she turned to Hagumi.</p><p>“What cup are we playing?” she asked, “I know you said to choose versus rather than Grand Prix for this one, but…”</p><p>“Oh!” Hagumi exclaimed, “I made a super duper special cup for this one! Let’s see, in order you’ll play SNES Rainbow Road, the new Rainbow Road, N64 Rainbow Road, and finally Big Blue!”</p><p>“Alrighty,” Maya responded before turning back to Kaoru. “Shall we?”</p><p>“Let us begin, Maya.” Kaoru responded with a nod.</p><p>SNES Rainbow Road wasn’t really a tricky course, but it was definitely twisty. Maya found herself having a bit of difficulty trying not to fall off the course. Kaoru wasn’t so lucky as to not fall off, but she made up the difference in no time. Large characters’ speed was no joke. Maya almost found herself struggling to win, but in the end she pulled through.</p><p>“You’re doing really well, Kaoru-san,” Maya said to the girl next to her between races, “I never really took you for the video game type.”</p><p>“Ah, well,” Kaoru gave Maya a smile, “HaroHapi’s practices involve bonding exercises with games sometimes. I have taken to this particular one as a fish to water, it would seem.” God, her smile made Maya’s heart go a million miles an hour. She had to focus though. For PasuPare’s honor!</p><p>The next race was one they had both already done. For Maya, it didn’t go too differently. She was still giving it her all, just as she had with Hina. Kaoru, for her part, dodged a few more shots than Hina had, but it seemed to be out of dumb luck rather than skill. Whether it was good luck for Kaoru or bad luck for Maya was still up in the air. Just as Maya was about to pull into the finish line, though, she got hit with a blue shell, and Kaoru passed her. She pouted but stopped when she looked over to Kaoru. She seemed very pleased with herself, with a small smile on her face that absolutely melted Maya’s heart.</p><p>N64 Rainbow Road was next. Maya loved this course, everything about it. She vowed to make sure she got a victory in this one. She decided to just focus on the race, not Kaoru, and the way she was quietly humming along with the music, oh my god that was so precious, fuck Maya fell off the course. Damn those gay thoughts! Giving herself a small pinch in the thigh, Maya focused back in on the race, and doubled down to win. And she did it, thank goodness. Now all she had to do was get first place on Big Blue, and she’d be in the clear!</p><p>“Well, we seem to have come to the tournament’s end, my dear,” Kaoru said to Maya, “Are you prepared?”</p><p>“Prepared as I’ll ever be, I suppose! Huhehe...” Maya responded. They both nodded at each other, and turned back to the TV.</p><p>Big Blue was a fun course. One long track with exciting music and a nice amount of difficulty. It was awesome. Maya knew she would take the victory here. It seemed almost guaranteed, as Kaoru fell off the course for the second time. Finally, victory was nearly in her grasp! Tossing a red shell behind her just to be safe, Maya raced to the finish line and crossed it!</p><p>“Eeee! Kaoru-san, I did it!” Maya cheered, way more excited than she had expected to be. She turned to Kaoru and jumped onto her in a hug, knocking the controller out of her hand just in time for her to finish the race in second place. “I won!” Kaoru’s face was beet red as she looked at Maya from below her.</p><p>“Ah-ah-ah!” came Hagumi’s call, “Remember rule number two? No physical contact with the other players!” Maya stared wide-eyed at Hagumi. “Kaoru-kun is the winner!”</p><p>Maya could only continue to stare at Hagumi as the rest of the crowd cheered for Kaoru.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to DivineNoodles for which characters everyone would main!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>